This entry in 2015 short film omnibus K' Rd Stories is billed as a “love story that’s not as simple as boy meets girl”. Directed by the multi-talented Nikki Si’Ulepa (Snow in Paradise), Aroha begins with Jade (played by K’ Rd denizen and Takatāpui presenter Ramon Te Wake) being stood up at a bar on the iconic strip. Jade’s spirits are lifted by an especially optimistic bartender (Hans Masoe), who muses about aroha, honesty and being open to experience — “I think he chickened out because he’s afraid of love”. But is the bartender’s advice too good to be true?

Key Cast & Crew

Ramon Te Wake

It was important to me to make Aroha true for the K' Rd community who live and breathe it every day. I decided to write a story about ‘aroha’ — or love — as that was something that I knew about. Then I wanted to bring a real K' Rd person into the mix of the film. Boom — enter Ramon Te Wake who stars as Jade.